Browsing by Subject "Feminism"

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Analysis of Feminist Appearance
(2015-08) Heckman, Joyce
In an age when the term feminist has evolved to include various strains of the women's movement and is highly inclusive of women and men, people are often quick to disassociate themselves from the term, viewing it as controversial and divisive. The present study investigates whether this dissociation with feminism has to do with a perceived negative appearance stereotype tied to feminists, a stereotype women feel is not representative of their personal appearance. The purpose of this project is to provide an analysis of feminist appearance and to explore appearance negotiations feminists deal with in their everyday lives. Another goal is to discover if feminists feel their appearance is representative of feminism as a whole and whether they feel their appearance choices conflict with their feminist beliefs. Drawing from analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 17 self-identified feminist graduate students, I explore the following overarching research question: "Are there appearance cues tied to feminism, and if so, does the perception of these cues shape society's understanding of the current feminist movement?"� Each participant took part in an in-depth interview, consisting of open-ended questions in addition to a four question written pulse survey. Each agreed to be photographed for the purpose of the interview. Using Marilyn DeLong's "Apparel-Body-Concept"� (1998) as a conceptual aesthetic framework to guide my analysis, this study focuses on participants' own perceptions of the interaction of apparel and the human body as they examine images of themselves and discuss ways they alter their appearance depending on the contexts, environments, and roles in which they find themselves. I examine modern definitions of feminism, both broad and personal, provided by the participants and I investigate how these definitions affect how the participants have developed their personal appearance and the types of dress and appearance they associate with the feminist movement. I explore whether participants believe this appearance has evolved over time, as the feminist movement has progressed from the suffragist movement in the 1800s to its current form in the 21st century.
Between Two Constitutions: Feminism and Pornography.
(University of Minnesota Law School, 1985) Bryden, David P.
The discursive construction of complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in women's popular health media and medical journals
(2014-01) Branson, Carolina
In this dissertation, I examine how CAM is discursively constructed in four major biomedical journals, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Nature, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine, and three widely known women's popular health media sites, The Dr. Oz Show, Women's Health magazine, and Prevention magazine, and argue that risk is a major trope in the construction of CAM. In my analysis, I found that medical journals use risk discursively to circumscribe the extent to which CAM is accepted in the mainstream medical community and to reinforce institutional boundaries. In women's popular health media, I found that risk is used discursively to reinforce the importance of conventional beauty standards while also supporting CAM as a valid supplement to conventional medicine by emphasizing how using CAM may enhance or improve health. Finally, I argue that although medical journals use the risk of CAM to validate professional norms, and women's health media conflate health and appearance using CAM, women's popular health media also provide specific examples of resistance against both the construction of the riskiness of CAM by medical journals and the patriarchal discourses that inflect the popular media's coverage of CAM.
Doulas For The State: Intimate Labor On The Margins Of Welfare
(2020-05) Fraker, Carolyn
This dissertation is the principal product of my five-year qualitative research study of a New York City (NYC) birth-support program, which I call “Lean on Me.” Housed in the Department of Health (DOH), Lean on Me uses federal funding to provide free doula, or birth-coach, support to pregnant-people who live in the NYC neighborhoods with the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality. Lean on Me is both a response to NYC’s broken social safety net and exists because of the neoliberal rollback of welfare provision. Today’s welfare landscape is overwhelmingly represented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) delivering state services such as job training, housing assistance, and food pantries. In contrast, Lean on Me is unique. Not only does the program strive to deliver woman-centered and culturally-sensitive maternal care, Lean on Me is also not contracted out at the level of the organization. Instead, the doulas themselves are the contract workers, granting them liminal status that makes the doulas both vulnerable workers and gives them a significant degree of freedom in their interactions with clients. Even as agents for the state, the doulas push ferociously against the city’s incursion. Ironically, their liminal status and relative autonomy allows them to forgo the city’s monitoring and operate largely on their own. Lean on Me was founded as a city initiative to mitigate the alarming racial disparity in maternal mortality and morbidity in NYC. Investigating these disparities as effects of what Dána-Ain Davis calls “obstetric racism,” my analysis of 101 birth narratives shows how the collusion between the punitive state and the hospital creates a medical environment where physicians use threats of law enforcement and child protective services to control and intimidate laboring-people of color (see Chapter 3). The Lean on Me doulas attempt to alleviate this abuse by arming clients with tools to push back against hospital practice in their 8-week childbirth education series. Based on my two-month ethnography of the birth-education series and interviews with participants, I demonstrate how the class operates as more than a simple birth education. This series teaches “birth self-defense” to clients and explicitly calls out practitioners and hospitals for racist medical care (see Chapter 4). Finally, using my analysis of 24 interviews with the doulas, two-years of participant observation of the monthly meetings, and content-analysis of all public material, I explore how Lean on Me employs intimate labor for the city to bridge the gap between the medical and personal realms (see Chapter 5). My dissertation research contributes to theoretical discussions on the nature of “obstetric racism” and “obstetric violence,” state control and discipline, and the possibilities of reproductive justice and “radical care.” Within an otherwise austere and disciplinary welfare landscape, Lean on Me allows space for the doulas to actively cultivate an alternative birthing atmosphere. The doulas’ alternative culture values compassionate care to support each birthing-person in achieving the most positive birth experience possible, within a system that otherwise devalues her bodily autonomy and humanity. My research is unique in its focus on a public doula initiative, enabling an analysis of how obstetric racism intersects with state discipline, and examining whether radical care can impact change within municipal initiatives. As progressive politicians amplify the call for public doula funding it is critical to show how public doulas actually do their work, and to question whether radical birth services are possible as a provision of a state which prioritizes criminalization over care.
Extending the Frame: Animation, Feminism, & Politics
(2022-05) Cambier, Vanessa
My dissertation, titled "Extending the Frame: Animation, Feminism, & Politics," investigates the the work of women animators from the past and present, zooming in on case studies (work by animators like Sally Cruikshank and Kelly Gallagher especially), and zooming out to investigate groups of films read together as a collective and ways BIPOC animators negotiate spaces within industry. I frame the animators and films within specific historical contexts, often using film and media theory to underscore the relationships between the films and feminist politics.
Gendered voices: rhetorical agency and the political career of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
(2012-08) Killian, Justin Lee
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton‟s public life represents a specific moment when a generation of women started to materially symbolize the progress made by feminist activists. Because of the struggles of previous reformers, Rodham Clinton was able to serve as a corporate lawyer, a First Lady of the United States, a health care reformer, a foreign diplomat, a candidate, a U.S. Senator, and a presidential front-runner. She is also the third woman to hold the post of U.S. Secretary of State. Rodham Clinton has a public resume unmatched by any political woman, but her success has also made her the victim of misogynistic symbolic violence. She is the most (mis)interpreted figure in U.S. politics. This project analyzes significant moments of public address in the life of Rodham Clinton. Her career presents transitional spaces from which to understand rhetorical agency, voice, and gender. The chapters cover: (1) Rodham Clinton‟s speeches promoting the 1993 Clinton healthcare reform, (2) Rodham Clinton‟s U.N. address in Beijing China, (3) Rodham Clinton‟s 1996 Democratic National Convention Address, (4) a collection of speeches that Rodham Clinton offered on the 2002 Iraq conflict, (5) Rodham Clinton‟s presidential campaign rhetoric, and (6) Rodham Clinton‟s 2008 Democratic National Convention Address.
“Grinding the walls to dust”: feminist media praxis
(2010-01) Raimist, Rachel Amy
This manuscript examines feminist media praxis as a site of knowledge production by exploring two distinct yet interconnected sites: a critical poetry workshop in a men's prison in Stillwater, Minnesota and a high school social justice theater program in St. Paul Central High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. The author, a feminist filmmaker and scholar, filmed both the prison poets and the high school students, and critically "read" still frames of the video footage, to show how educational practices in public schools and prisons can work to subvert mainstream narratives of the "white teacher" as inner-city savior. This project interweaves feminism, film theory, prison studies, pedagogy, and video-making practices, to produce knowledge that prioritizes both critical inquiry and creative media making. Through praxis, knowledge is produced using art (poetry, performance and video), to work in resistance to Minnesota's school-to-prison pipeline.
Individualism, Feminism and Social Change: A Study of Graduates of the Women's Institute for Social Change.
(1990) Flagler, Susan McGrath
Interview with Andrea Hinding
(University of Minnesota, 1994-10-14) Hinding, Andrea; Chambers, Clarke A.
Clarke A. Chambers interviews Andrea Hinding, librarian for the Social Welfare History Archives and Kautz Family YMCA Archives.
Interview with Arvonne Fraser
(University of Minnesota, 2001-01-04) Fraser, Arvonne; Pflaum, Ann M.
Ann Pflaum interviews Arvonne Fraser, graduate of the University and wife of Donald MacKay Fraser.
Maternal appeals in politics: their effectiveness and consequences.
(2011-07) Deason, Grace
There is a history in politics of "maternal appeals" in which female activists and candidates appeal to popular ideas of motherhood to garner support for their political agendas. Political actors' choice to emphasize motherhood is at odds with social-psychological theories that indicate that women will be seen as poor candidates for leadership positions to the extent that they appear stereotypically feminine (Eagly & Karau, 2002; Heilman, 1983; Heilman & Okimoto, 2008). Nonetheless, political candidates of both genders claim to draw inspiration from their experiences as parents, and feminist political theories argue that appeals to nurturance and the family have the unique ability to usher in a new kind of politics built on fundamental values of compassion, generosity, and interpersonal connectedness (Elder & Greene, 2009; Hayden, 2003; Lakoff, 1996, 2002; Ruddick, 1989, 1997). This project provided an empirical test of the claim that motherhood can be harnessed to advance a political agenda. A novel theory of the dynamics of maternal appeals in political campaigns was tested in a content analysis of of political advertisements from the 2004 U. S. Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections and two laboratory experiments. Results indicated that candidates attempt to channel the power of motherhood for political gain, and in the contemporary political environment, male candidates have more leeway to make maternal appeals than do female candidates. Although they compromised political candidates' chances of electoral success, maternal appeals also changed the basis on which leaders were evaluated such that feminine characteristics were weighted more heavily in vote choice. Moreover, maternal appeals had effects beyond voters' impressions of candidates: They increased support for liberal policies among some individuals, suggesting that they can contribute to a liberal political agenda. However, maternal appeals also perpetuated stereotypes of mothers in an organizational context, with implications for the ethics of using maternal appeals as a political persuasion tool. Taken together, the findings of these studies support the claim that maternal appeals have a unique power, but in the current socio-cultural context in which motherhood is devalued and separate from the public sphere, the effects of its power are limited.
Narratives of scholars in the field of intimate partner violence
(2014-12) Becher, Emily Harrington
Historically, divisions have existed in the field of Intimate Partner Violence, with intense and sometimes acerbic debate ensuing in the literature between scholars affiliated with a "feminist" perspective and those affiliated with a "family conflict" perspective. New scholars just entering the field lack a historical understanding of how these divisions came to be, what are the core questions at the heart of the divide and how have leaders in the field navigated these questions along their own professional journeys? This dissertation is an effort to document from a first person perspective an extensive review of the scholarly literature related to these divisions and a narrative inquiry and analysis of how six leading scholars in the field, affiliated with both perspectives describe their journey.
Non-Ideal Autonomy in Relationships of Care
(2017-08) Swanson, Kathryn
In moral and political philosophy, autonomy is generally theorized as a right exercised by independent, self-reflective, rational, adult persons. Feminist philosophers have challenged this picture by emphasizing that critical reflection as well as relationships and dependencies are integral to what it means to exercise autonomy. This work addresses the implications of necessitating cognitive processes such as critical reflection for autonomy in legal guardianships. In a guardianship, a court determines that a person (i.e., the ward) is ‘incapable’ of legal decision-making and appoints someone else (i.e., the guardian) to make decisions on her behalf. This is problematic because a state bill of rights statute may simultaneously require that a ward’s autonomy be respected by the guardian. Here, there is a gap between our philosophical conceptions of autonomy and how real cognitively diverse people experience it. In response to this gap, a non-ideal approach treats autonomy as a fundamental need rather than a right, suspends cognitive ideals and instead attends to diverse experiences of it. Approaching autonomy in this way has the potential to more meaningfully inform expectations of care within legal guardianships.
One Woman’s Studies: The Far-Reaching Impact of Gayle Graham Yates, PhD (1940-2023)
(Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays (JOIE), 2024-02-21) Knatterud, Mary; Knatterud, Mary
In 1979, I was introduced to Dr. Gayle Graham Yates, the first full-time coordinator (and soon chair) of the up-and-coming WoSt (Women’s Studies) program. I found her to be an inspiring teacher, a gifted author, and a thoughtful mentor. Her wisdom and empathy, in and beyond the classroom, lived on in every aspect of my own academic career for nearly a half-century (and counting!), even though I only really interacted with her for a couple of years. But they were foundational years, intense and heady, for which I am forever grateful to her. I was deeply saddened to read of her death on April 27, 2023, at age 82.
Preliminary Report of the Women's Institute for Social Change Research Project.
(1989) Flagler, Susan McGrath
Preservice teacher talk surrounding gender
(2012-09) Engebretson, Kathryn Ellerhoff
This dissertation examines the discourses around gender present among a cohort of preservice secondary social studies teachers (n=25) and how gender discourses manifested throughout their preparatory year with particular interest paid to their thoughts about curricula, schools, and students. Using ethnographic study design, the author presents three significant moments that occurred throughout their preparatory year, and, for three focal students, interviews which occurred in their first year of teaching. Data include transcripts of three class sessions, completed assignments, reflective journals, and interviews. Building upon Thornton's (1991) work on teachers as "curricular-instructional gatekeepers," the author explores what guided the curricular decision making for the participants and, for the focal students, what discourses they decided to make space for in their first classrooms. Because gender is socially constructed, it is important for future teachers to examine what has contributed to the construction of their own gendered identities in order for them to be able to see how they as individuals and as members of a larger group contribute to the greater society. Through feminist poststructural discourse analysis, the author finds multiple and competing discourses around the gendered topics of sexual violence and how the students expressed their own genders as connected to culture. Intersections of race and social class with gender and the presence of emotion were important in how the students talked about gender. Also found was the uneven follow-through of implementing practices learned in their teacher education coursework in their first classrooms, and the reluctance of two focal students to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) topics in their first classrooms. Additionally, the role of context is considered as essential to the students' decision whether to self-censor.
Review of Blessing the Boats by Lucille Clifton
(Voices from the Gaps, 2005) Ward, Bianca
Sangtin Yatra: Saat Zindgiyon Mein Lipta Nari Vimarsh
(Sitapur: Sangtin, 2004) Anupamlata; Ramsheela; Ansari, Reshma; Bajpayee, Vibha; Shashibala; Vaish, Shashi; Surbala; Singh, Richa; Nagar, Richa
Authored with eight activists of Sangtin, a small organization in Sitapur District of Uttar Pradesh, India, this book is a product of a collective intellectual and political journey that began in March, 2002. Based on autobiographical writings of seven authors and our collective analysis, the book examines the interplay of caste, gender, class, and location in the interrelationships among NGOs, grassroots feminisms, and the global politics of knowledge production.
Talking Gender and Masculinities with Young Men: Situating Women in Men's Narratives in Rural UP
(2021-06) Chatterji, Devleena
In 2021, gender empowerment and equality have become household terms in India, but gender violence in various forms has also increased substantially. There is a puzzle here- how can violence and empowerment go hand in hand? A critical offshoot of this puzzle in India where caste hierarchy is deeply embedded in every social problem is that Dalit and subordinate caste men have been grossly vilified by the feminist movement which has been a space largely occupied by dominant-caste women. This problem is messy between caste and gender complexities. My study dives into exploring these complexities by highlighting young Dalit men’s narratives. Do men, including young Dalit men, have a role in sustaining gender discrimination and patriarchal structures? They do. But what is this patriarchal structure that they find so hard to push back against and where does it come from? Brahmanical Patriarchy, a water-tight model that has sustained gender and caste discrimination describes how we live in societies that are shaped by gender, caste, and economic relationships, and in turn shape them through our decisions and actions. The term conveys ideas that are deep and complex, very similar to how the participants in this study, who are young Dalit boys from rural UP, describe their lived experiences in the form of narratives. This study advances three main arguments: First, I follow Nagar’s approach, and through an intersectional analysis that deeply intertwines my narratives with that of the participants’, this study demonstrates the possibilities of building critical solidarities where power differences are insurmountable through honest and open communication. Second, it complicates the idea that violence does not happen in a vacuum and young men are not born perpetrators but enabled through narrative tropes that come from tenets of Brahmanical Patriarchy. And finally, using an intersectional approach I add nuance and narratives that the ways in which Dalit women face a unique form of oppression that dominant caste (savarna) women do not. In addition, this study also touches on the struggles that young men from Dalit families face given the heightened state of uncertainty that circumscribes their daily lives. At large, this study reveals how gender violence, especially in intimate relationships, gets normalized through narrative tropes. Finally, despite the limitation of this study with only Dalit men as participants, I argue that narrative tropes constitute the very fabric of Brahmanical Patriarchy, and certain dispositions and prejudices towards women, exist irrespective of caste affiliation.
Two “Actually Existing” Networked Counterpublics: The Rhetorics of the Feminist Blogosphere and Political Black Twitter
(2016-09) Schiappa, Jacqueline
A growing number of scholars are examining how new technologies and new media spaces shape public discourses and activities. This work explored two networked counterpublics, Slutwalk and Black Twitter. Each counterpublic is treated separately, however both were studied through a feminist rhetorical lens that assumes “actually existing” publics are valuable sites of rhetorical inquiry. The researcher utilized the feminist rhetorical research practice “strategic contemplation” throughout the project’s process. Several interesting findings emerged; Slutwalk is a movement resisting exigent issues in rape culture. Slutwalk as a feminist subject serves as a useful microcosm for understanding the contours of contemporary third wave feminist debates, which tend to be hypercritical. Moreover, in comparing the ways in which two cities separately organized their own Slutwalks, a difference between “active” and “passive” intersectionality was identified. The Black Twitter community is a powerful networked counterpublic that is gaining scholarly attention. This project contributes an explication of how the community is culturally Black, and traces the multimodal strategies of Political Black Twitter in the context of #Ferguson and mainstream media narratives.

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